A strong earthquake that rattled parts of southern Illinois and Indiana early this morning was felt in the Grand Rapids area, about 320 miles away.

The quake, given a preliminary magnitude of 5.4, occurred about 6 miles from Mount Carmel, Ill., and about 131 miles east of St. Louis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It took place about 2 miles underground and struck about 5:36 a.m., USGS said.

"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, Ill., 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."

The quake also shook skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop and tall buildings in downtown Indianapolis. It was felt in Milwaukee and Cincinnati as well.

Irvetta McMurtry of Cincinnati said she felt the rattling for up to 20 seconds.

"All of a sudden, I was awakened by this rumbling shaking," said McMurtry, 43. "My bed is an older wood frame bed, so the bed started to creak and shake, and it was almost like somebody was taking my mattress and moving it back and forth."

Lucas Griswold, a dispatcher in West Salem, said the Edwards County sheriff's department received reports of minor damage and no injuries.AP Video

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville, about 38 miles from the epicenter, said there were no immediate reports of damage.

A 5.4 quake can cause considerable damage.

Grand Rapids police dispatchers felt the building shake around 5:30.

Lt. Larry Frye said a couple of dispatchers who work on the fourth floor of Grand Rapids headquarters called him to find out if he felt anything in his lower floor office. He did not notice any tremors.

The USGS received reports from all over West Michigan, including Grand Rapids, Ada, Caledonia, Holland, Wayland and Trufant

The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the USGS.

The organization's Web site said earthquakes occur irregularly in the area, and that the largest historical earthquake in the region -- also a magnitude 5.4 -- caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968.

Three of the most powerful quakes felt in North America struck in the region.

In 1811-12, a series of quakes along the New Madrid Fault in Missouri, near the border with Tennessee, measured 7.8, 8.0 and 8.1, which is 10 times more intense than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. They devastated the sparsely populated area, and reportedly caused the Mississippi River to flow backward for a time.

The quakes, occurring from from Dec. 16 to Feb. 7, were felt as far away as Boston. Damage was reported as far away as Charleston, S.C., and Washington, D.C.The earthquake is being monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Luk 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. :: Praise The Lamb:: Amen

Holy, holy,holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.Praise the one who gives you peace beyond all understanding Yes that scripture still sounds good !

Poor people do poor people things, and rich people do rich people things.

You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.

You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

when you rob Paul to give to Peter ... ... ... you will always get Peters support!

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Good morning teacher , my son wants you to come teach a bible study class ? I'll email you ! Praise the lamb:: Amen Our Wed. evening class is growing very nicely ,we are getting more people in wed. now than Sun. ! Must be Glena's singing , she doest sing on wed. !

Holy, holy,holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.Praise the one who gives you peace beyond all understanding Yes that scripture still sounds good !

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Thank you for that reminder as we called our service a couple weeks ago Christian Passover , but your right our grafted passover should also be revered !! Thank you for the reminder !! Praise the lamb:: amen

Holy, holy,holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.Praise the one who gives you peace beyond all understanding Yes that scripture still sounds good !

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Good morning teacher , my son wants you to come teach a bible study class ? I'll email you ! Praise the lamb:: Amen Our Wed. evening class is growing very nicely ,we are getting more people in wed. now than Sun. ! Must be Glena's singing , she doest sing on wed. !

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Thank you for that reminder as we called our service a couple weeks ago Christian Passover , but your right our grafted passover should also be revered !! Thank you for the reminder !! Praise the lamb:: amen

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Good morning teacher , my son wants you to come teach a bible study class ? I'll email you ! Praise the lamb:: Amen Our Wed. evening class is growing very nicely ,we are getting more people in wed. now than Sun. ! Must be Glena's singing , she doest sing on wed. !

What would your group like to learn?

Let me know what you have in mind for your class. Thanks!

Quoting: Little Star

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Your near death experience is talked about a lot and many want more info on it ! Praise the lamb:: Amen

Holy, holy,holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.Praise the one who gives you peace beyond all understanding Yes that scripture still sounds good !

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Thank you for that reminder as we called our service a couple weeks ago Christian Passover , but your right our grafted passover should also be revered !! Thank you for the reminder !! Praise the lamb:: amen

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Good morning teacher , my son wants you to come teach a bible study class ? I'll email you ! Praise the lamb:: Amen Our Wed. evening class is growing very nicely ,we are getting more people in wed. now than Sun. ! Must be Glena's singing , she doest sing on wed. !

What would your group like to learn?

Let me know what you have in mind for your class. Thanks!

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Your near death experience is talked about a lot and many want more info on it ! Praise the lamb:: Amen

Quoting: wing-ed

I can talk about that Winged, but what is more important is for the people to be ready and know what events will happen and what timing of those events. I will limit what I will take about when it comes to what happened to me. Most of it is too personal and will remain that way. I will tell them what I saw, but not was what said to me, and I will limit what I saw also. (There is a huge reason for that, and I will not go into it on glp.)Thanks for the invite.

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Good morning teacher , my son wants you to come teach a bible study class ? I'll email you ! Praise the lamb:: Amen Our Wed. evening class is growing very nicely ,we are getting more people in wed. now than Sun. ! Must be Glena's singing , she doest sing on wed. !

What would your group like to learn?

Let me know what you have in mind for your class. Thanks!

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: Your near death experience is talked about a lot and many want more info on it ! Praise the lamb:: Amen

I can talk about that Winged, but what is more important is for the people to be ready and know what events will happen and what timing of those events. I will limit what I will take about when it comes to what happened to me. Most of it is too personal and will remain that way. I will tell them what I saw, but not was what said to me, and I will limit what I saw also. (There is a huge reason for that, and I will not go into it on glp.)Thanks for the invite.

Quoting: Little Star

Praise The Holy Of Holy :: I'm sure the spirit will lead you in the word he wants told !! Praise The Lamb:: Amen

Holy, holy,holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.Praise the one who gives you peace beyond all understanding Yes that scripture still sounds good !